Travis Fulgham came out of nowhere and became a brief fan favorite in Philadelphia during the 2020 NFL season, catching a massively important 42-yard touchdown in his Eagles debut to help earn a victory over the 49ers and exploding for 10 catches, 152 yards and another score the following week.
Actually, there's a falsehood in that first bit there. Fulgham didn't come out of nowhere: he came out of Detroit, with an extremely brief stop in Green Bay, but he didn't do much in terms of on-field production. In 2019, Fulgham appeared in three games for the Lions, drew three targets and came away with a grand total of zero catches for zero yards. Fortunately, Philadelphia provided him with an opportunity — not a great opportunity, all things considered, but an opportunity nonetheless — and he made the most of it for a few weeks.
Perhaps running back Kerryon Johnson can experience the same type of breakthrough now that he's joined the Eagles, who picked him up just a day after the Lions waived him. At the very least, it looks as though he's enjoying himself just a little bit more in Philadelphia than in Detroit, which is something that he and Fulgham bonded over on social media.
Well then.
Now, back to whether or not Johnson can experience the same type of breakout as Fulgham. The difference between Johnson and Fulgham, however, is that the fourth-year running back was a second-round pick and an effective player as a rookie, unlike the sixth-round Fulgham. In only ten games as a rookie, Johnson picked up 854 yards from scrimmage. He was one of only nine players with at least 60 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards per game in that 2018 campaign (via Stathead):
However, injuries and the additions of both Adrian Peterson and D'Andre Swift for the 2020 season really sent him down the depth chart and he went from a potential second-year breakout to a third-year memory of what-could-have-been.
But, hey... despite a crowded backfield also containing Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Jordan Howard and rookie Kenneth Gainwell, Philly represents a blank slate. And if the tweets above are any indication, at least he'll have a little bit more fun at practice than in past years.
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